Wrench.



Patented my 3|, |900.

G. S. TILTON.

WRENCH.

\App1ication filed Nov. 27, 1899.)

(No Model.)

@vih/wouw l l per se.

NITED STATES GEORGE SCOTT TILTON, OF BRISTOL, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

WRENCH.l

srnciFIcA'rion forming part of Letters Patent No. 654,769, dated Jury e1, 1900. Appunti@ nea November-27, 1399.-s'er1a11ra7sa419. cromati.)

To all whom 'it mag/,concern- Be it known that I, GEORGE Sco'r'r TrLroN, a citizen of the United-States,residing at Bristol, in the county of Grafton and State of New Hampshirahave invented a new and useful Wrench, ofwhich the following is a specification. 1

The object of thisinvention is to provide a quick-action wrench constructed in such manner as to enable it to automatically release its grip upon a pipe or nutand obtain a new firm grip thereon without requiring any attention on the partof the, operator.`

It is also an objectof the invention to provide a wrench of simple and durable construction, doing away, as faras possible,with small or delicate parts which are liable to become broken and render the wrench inoperative., The detailed objects and advantages of the invention will appear inthe course of the en-4 suing description.

The invention consi'stsin a wrench embodying certain novel features and details of conv struction and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully described,illustrated in the drawings, and incorporated inthe claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a wrench constructed in accordance with the present invention.i Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the same. Fig. 3 is aperspective view of the yoke Fig. is an enlarged detail section through the yoke-block and a part of the yoke, showing also portions of the two Shanks and illustrating the operation and disposition of the yoke-actuating spring. Fig. 5 is a detailview showing the employment of two camp f larranged a yoke-block 1 3, and the slidable clutches in lieu of one. Fig. 6 is a face view of a portion o f the slidable shank, showing the teeth arranged for engagement with two clutches.- A Y Similar numerals 4of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings. 1 j

Referring to the drawings, 1` designates'the stationary or Vmain shank of the wrench,wliich is providedat'one end with the ordinary handle 2 and at its opposite end with the fixed jaw 3,transverse1y serrated or toothed on its active face 4. 5 designates the sliding'shank, which carries at its outer end the movable jaw 6, the

working face 7 of which is also transversely toothed or serrated. The working faces of the two jaws are preferably s'etobliquewith relation to each other forfacilitating the gripping and ungripping action 4hereinafter more particularly referred'to. "The two shanks are connected by means of Aa yoke 8, which is substantially U-shaped in cross-section, and which is centrallyfcu't away to provide a pair of loops .9,which are spaced at a distance from l each other and which loosely embrace the slidable shank, so as to enable said shank to be moved longitudinally within the loops 9 for the purpose of adjusting the distance between the gripping-jaws of the wrench. The yoke S` is lpivotally connected to the main or stationary shank by means of a pivot-pin 10, lo-

. cated' adjacent to the fixed jaw. The yoke is also provided near its opposite e'nd with opl positely-locatedlimiting-slots 11, in which are l received the opposite ends of a stop-pin 12, 4inserted through the stationary shank, as Lshown. r

It will now be understood that the yoke Sis adapted to' swing upon the pivot 10 as a centei` and that its pivotal movement in opposite directions is limited by the pin 12,which works in the slots 1l as the yoke swings. The slidable shank and the movable jaw swing with 1 each other, and as theircenter of motion is the same as that of the yoke the movable jaw swings upon Vthe pivot 10 as a center, thus causing the working face of the movable jaw tobe moved nearer to or farther from the fixed jaw for the purpose of gripping and releasing the pipe, nut, or other article operatedupon.

Between the side portions of the yoke 8 is and the outer portion of the inner loop 9. The stationary shank 1 adjacent to the fixed jaw, is oifset to form a recess 14, in which a cam-clutch 15 is adapted to move. Thecltch 15 is pivotally mounted between the side portions of the yoke upon the pivot-pin 16, which passes through the yoke. The clutch is also provided with oppositely-projecting fingerpieces 17 in the form of cylindrical buttons, which project laterally beyond the opposite sides of the yoke 8, so as to enable them to be graspedby the fingers of the operator in order to enable the clutch to be disengaged ICO - slidable shank and normally maintained in.

from the slidable shank with which it coperates. The active face of the clutch is transversely toothed or serrated, as shown at 18, to engage with corresponding teeth or serrations 19 on the adjacent face of the slidable shank, and the clutch is urged toward the engagement therewith by means of a leafspring 20, the free end of which bears against the clutch and the opposite end of which is' rigidly secured to the yoke-block by meansof a screw or other fastener21. Thus the clutch is housed within the yoke or between the spaced loops 9 thereof and also between the stationary and slidable shanks. vides a convenient arrangement for the clutch, protects it from inj ury,'-and at thesame time enables it to be readilyimanipulated.

. .Themain or stationary shank 1 is provided in that side adjacent to the slidable shank witha longitudinal groove 122, in which is placed a yoke-actuating spring24, said spring being of leaf form and secured at its inner end by means of a screw or other fastener 25. The free end of said'springengages in a notch 26 in the yoke-block I3, and the tension of said spring is exerted to aline the stationary and slidable Shanks or, in other words, to main; tain the two shanks in parallel relation and contact with each other. At the same time l the spring enables the yoke to be rocked hereinabove referred to.

when the movable jaw is swung in the act of gripping the object interposed between the wrench-jaws The yoke-actuating spring 1s housed within the body of the shank 1 and does not interfere with the movement of the slidable shank. In order to limit the 4outward movement of the slidable shank, the latteris provided at its inner end with a limiting stop 27 in the form of a pin inserted through said shank and having its ends projecting on opposite sidesv thereof, so -as to come in contact with the yoke.

In order to secure a fine adjustment, vtwo clutches 28 may be employed, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, insteadV of the single clutch Both clutches may be mounted upon the same pivot-pin 29 and independently actuated by separate springs 30, attached to the clutch-block. Where two clutches are employed, the teeth on the slidi able shank will be bisected and arranged to alternate with each other, as shown at 31. In other words, :the teeth at opposite sides of the center ofV theslidableshank are arranged in staggered order, so that when one of the clutches is in engagement with the teeththe other clutch will be disengaged, but readyto snapi-n-to engagement with the teeth vonthe shank upona further slight movement of said shank. Y l

, In view of the above it will be seen that I have provided a quick-action wrench wh-ich will automatically grip and release its hold uponV an object interposed between `the wrench-jaws. By swinging the clutch-cam away from the slidable shank the latter is This proi left freeto move longitudinally and may be quickly pushed inward or outward by the operator'until the desired distance between 7o the wrench-jaws is obtained, whereupon by releasing the clutch cam the actuating springs thereof will throw the clutch into engagement with the slidable shank and prevent the outward movement of the movable jaw. The yoke-actuating spring operates to swing ,the movable jaw away from the fixed jaw when pressure on the wrench handle is relieved. The inner end of the slidable shank is beveled or chamfered, as shown at 32, to enable the operator t'o push the slidable shank `upward by pressing with his thumb against the end thereof after disengaging the clutch- From the foregoing it is thought that the construction,V operation, and -many "advan-V tages of the'herein-describedinvention -will be apparent to those skilled inthe art without further description, and it will be under` stood that various changes in the size, shape, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any ofthe advantages 'of the invention.

Having thus described the invention3what I claim as new, and desire tosecurefby Letters Patent, is-

i v -1- f' Y 1. In a wrench, astation-ary-sha-nk carrya ing thexed jaw,laslidable shank carrying thel movable jaw, avyoke embracing both Shanks and pivotally connectedtdthestationary jshank, a clutch housedV Wi-thinthe yoke and interposed between the two y shanks,` and a yoke-actuating spring attachedtothel stationary shank and engaging-theyoke, sub-N stantiallyas speci-fied.- f

A, 2. Inga wrench, a stationaryshan-k carrying the fixed jaw, a slidable Vshank Vcarry-ing the movable jaw, a yoke embracing both Shanks and pivotally connectedto the sta; tionarly/ shank,-a clutch housed -withi-ntheyoke and interposedbetween the two shan-ks,A

a clutch-actuating spring vsecured thereto,

and a yoke-actuating spring attached to the stationary shank and engagi-ngthefyoke, surbstantiall-y as specified. i j

3. In al wrench, a stationary-shank carrying the fixed jaw, a slidableshankcarrying the movable jaw, a yoke embracing bothshanks and pivotallyconnected toYV the -sta- .tionary` shank, a clutch housed with-inthe yoke and interposed between the-two shankS, a yoke-block having a notch, a clutch-actuating spring secured thereto and va yoke-actuating spring attached to the stationary shank and having its free end inserted in the notch in the yoke-block, vsubstantially as specified. 5'

4. Inga wrench, a stationary shank carryingthe fixed jaw and oset adjacent thereto i to leave a recess, a slidable shank` carrying the movable jaw,a yoke pivotallyccnnected to the stationary shank and comprising spaced loops which embrace 'the slidable. shank, aA

ICO

clutch arranged in the space between the ,yoke-loops and within the recess in the stationary shank, and a yoke-actuating spring connected with the lstationary shank, substantially as specilied.

5. The combination of a main shank,a.yield able yoke thereon, a spring acting against the yoke, means for limiting the movement of the yoke relative to the shank and under the repression of the spring, another shank slidable in the yoke, and a yieldable clutch normally engaging with the slidable shank, substam tially as described.

6. The combination of a main shank, a slidable shank, a yoke embracing said shanks, a spring seated against the main shank and the yoke, and a yieldable clutch carried by the 

